Having a baby means all kinds of grand planning.

And then real life slaps you upside the head and knocks some sense into you.

When we were going through the great solids debate, we knew we wanted to try the unconventional by using the baby led weaning approach. And in many ways, we have done that.

But we’ve also gone the convenient route.

Because, well, it’s convenient. And, more importantly, he likes it.

We started out giving him pieces of the foods we were eating — avocados, bananas, whole oats, etc. It went well. He was hesitant, but my little champ went with it.

But my milk supply continued to decrease. And the stress of not being able to make my baby feel full was overwhelming. So one day at Target I noticed that some of the Happy Baby organic, no-GMO, food pouches were on sale. So I picked up a handful of them.

Right away, he loved them. He ended up going nuts for them!

So I sent some to the sitter with him and ever since, he’s been eating about 2 pouches [or 8 ounces] of food a day. Sweet potatoes, broccoli, carrots, sweet peas, bananas, beets, pears, mangoes and more. He loves it all.

One thing we didn’t do conventionally was feeding him one type of food for a week straight. Cause that’s boring for everyone. And who’s allergic to green beans?? Probably 1 person out of a million. Seriously.

So I guess we’ll continue with what works for us [which is what parenting is all about, right??].

We’ll feed him pieces of our meals and we’ll make sure he’s getting all of the necessary nutrition through alternate routes — like organic pouches and breast milk — keeping our baby happy and healthy!

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I’m linking up with Shannon from Life After I Dew to say SO WHAT if…

• I’ve watched 9 episodes of American Horror Story on Netflix in 3 days.  It’s not scary and it’s mildly entertaining while I’m pumping. Works for me.

• I try to motivate myself to get to the gym in the early morning by convincing myself that I’ll feel better afterward. And it’s true. I feel way better after working out.

• even after setting those alarms last night, I couldn’t get up. I think I’m having some fatigue issues. But I’m not looking forward to going to the doctor for it.

• Chad and I are convinced that our kid is the cutest of all time. He recently started to ‘dance’ on command. It’s hilarious and freakin’ adorable!

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p73SUMJII4Y

  

• I’m overly excited about having a three day weekend both this weekend and next! Which makes for a 3 day work week next week! Woooo hooooo!

• our dates consist of an early dinner and a trip to Home Depot. I love it.

• I’ve been obsessed with window shopping for patio furniture. We’re not ready to purchase it yet, but I can’t wait to find the perfect set. [Umm, I sound scary domesticated in this So What Wednesday post... LOL].

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I’m a day late with my weekly mantra. Reason being? I’ve been busy living; been busy spending time with one happy baby boy and one happy husband.

Sometimes you need to take an extra few minutes snuggling on the couch with your family instead of checking emails, twitter and writing. Some days you’re helping your baby learn to crawl and talking with your husband while dinner is cooking.

So get busy living. Make the most of your day and spend meaningful time with your loved ones!

Cheers to a meaningful week!

xo

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The last three days have been B-U-S-Y! I had a crazy work day on Friday so at 5PM I was pumped to run like heck outta there! Plus, Chad and I had planned a little date night to celebrate his birthday [it was last Monday, the 13th -- but we were kinda busy].

We left Ari with our sitter and went to see Ironman 3 in 3D! I love, love, loved it! In my opinion, it was the best yet. It doesn’t hurt that Robert Downey Jr is gorgeous! The movie let out after 9PM and though we had grand plans for a late dinner, it didn’t happen. We decided to go home and call it a night instead.

Saturday morning I woke up bright and early for a power yoga class. Ari and I spent the rest of the day running errands, cleaning and making sure he got his naps in [he did, thank god!]. My aunt visited us in the afternoon and offered to stay and hang out with Ari while I finally took Chad out for his birthday dinner.

We ended up home by 7:30, but it was a date night, nonetheless!

We were actually able to sleep in a bit on Sunday, which was amazing, but also made it difficult to get out of the house on time for our coffee date with Gretchen. Ari and I met her at Nervous Dog and he was rough and tumbly the whole time! This kid wants to get into everything these days!

After our awesome coffee date, our family of three headed to Downtown Cleveland to see the Indians beat Seattle [again]!

It was ridiculously hot. But we had fun. And Ari made it to the 7th inning before we had to leave [woo hoo!].

Overall, completely awesome weekend. Exhausting. And awesome.

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I’ve always been an early bird.

In college, I would be the only working out at our campus fitness center at 5:30 am — right when they opened; I was the first person to sign up for an 8am course; and I was also the very first person to go to bed every night.

I function better in the mornings.

Well, until Ari came along.

Now? I’m lucky if I wake up with my alarm; I’m lucky if I don’t hit the snooze thirty times; and I’m lucky if I wake up in time to brush my teeth in the morning before work.

But I still consider myself an early bird.

A “late night” is 10PM. In fact, I seriously pushed that limit last night. But, alas, 9:30 rolls around and I’m b-e-a-t!

But for whatever reason, having a kid makes it difficult to sleep well, well, ever!

I still find ways to wake up at 2:30am for the gym. People ask me how. And, really?, it’s simple. By the time I make it through a long work day and put Ari to bed, it’s 7:30pm. And ain’t nobody got time to go to the gym at 8:30 PM. True story!

Cause regardless of how many times I hit the snooze button

or sleep through my alarm

or forget to brush my teeth/hair in the morning…

I love the mornings that I actually get up at 2:30 am.

I love the mornings where I make it to the gym for an early morning workout.

I love the mornings where I am tired, but dammit, I’m getting s*** done!

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I’m linking up with Shannon from Life After I Dew to say SO WHAT if…

• I’m genuinely appalled by the idea of the new murder mystery show premiering on ABC. As a family victim of murdered relatives, the idea of murder mysteries disgusts me. I hold the belief that if it’s unacceptable to hold a “rape mystery” then it should be equally as unacceptable to hold a “murder mystery.” Classless.

• we have our meals planned out for the next 7 days and sometimes I still end up saying “what are we having for dinner tonight?”

• my one wish would be to never wear a bathing suit again. Post-baby bodies are not for the faint of heart!

• I’ve been obsessing over this Kid President video. OMG. He is to die for!

• I woke up 10 minutes before I had to leave for work this morning. Guys, I was only EIGHT minutes late for work! That’s amazing considering I had to pump before I dropped Ari off at the sitter.

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It’s been a busy, busy, few days, y’all!

Saturday morning Ari + I drove 2.5 hours to Columbus, bright & early, to visit with my sister and my parents. When we arrived we ate a little breakfast and headed to the German Village to pick up some yummy macarons and lemon tarts from Pistacia Vera.

The macarons were amazing! Beautiful and delicious!

After hitting up a couple of other places, including Columbus Brewing Company [hello -- if I'm in Columbus I'm going to try and locate some Bodhi!], we went wedding dress shopping.

My sister and her fiance are getting hitched October 4th 2014 [the eve of my 30th birthday!]. And even though it seems a little soon to be wedding dress shopping, she is beyond relieved to have chosen THE dress and to be done with it! One less thing to worry about!

Ari did so well running all kinds of errands with us. He even stayed awake through most of dinner. But on the way home, my napless baby went crazy. Well, until he fell asleep. Luckily he slept most of our drive home.

On Sunday we planned to celebrate my first Mother’s Day by having a low-key day and then go out for a late lunch.

Buuuut that didn’t happen. I had an errand to run Sunday morning, and afterward I went for a 3-mile run. Followed by a super cranky Babycakes. I can’t blame him. Our Saturday was full of travel and it threw his schedule way off; but he was pretty much a nightmare all day Sunday.

Oy. My nightmare.

Thankfully, going to the sitters on Monday seems to regulate his schedule and put us all back on track. Who would’ve thought that we’d be looking forward to Mondays??

But Monday was pretty much just as crazy for us. We celebrated Chad’s birthday as a teeny family after work. We ate dinner, opened presents and ate lemon tart [instead of cake!].

Hopefully by the end of today we’ll all be back into our regular routine!

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I’m big on lists. And goals — big and small.

So I’m sharing how I am holding myself accountable.

and offering myself little rewards throughout my “get fit” journey!

1. Fit back into my old pre-baby jeans. This is a big one. I’m tired of wearing maternity & postpartum clothes. I miss my old J.Crew jeans. Sigh. Reward? New pair of Lululemon yoga pants.

2. Go back to a C-cup. You may think I’m crazy, but baby weight gain + nursing = giant tatas. And I’m over it. Like, a thousand percent over it. Reward? New bra from Victoria’s Secret.

3. Run for 30 minutes straight. Used to be easy-peasy. Now I’m working myself back up to it via the Couch to 5k program. Getting there! Reward? I Run This Body shirt from mile-posts.com.

4. Work out 7 days straight. This is kind of self-explanatory. I used to work out everyday. I know it’s not possible to do 7-day a week workouts all the time, but just one week would be nice. Reward? These pub glasses I’ve been lusting over for ages now.

5. Run my first timed 5k race since Ari was born. It’s been a longggg time since I ran an actual race. Reward? This Run Like A Mother shirt.

How about you? Do you have any fitness goals or other life goals you’re working on?? Do you set mini-’rewards’ for yourself when you achieve them??

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I’m linking up with Shannon from Life After I Dew to say SO WHAT if…

• I finally was beginning to feel better about my post-baby body. Well, until I put on a bathing suit for Ari’s swim lesson. After that? Yeah, not so much.

• I’ve been singing the Bedroom Intruder song for days. It gets stuck in my head and will.not.leave. I’m sure my coworkers are less than thrilled with me.

• I yelled at my mom via Facebook for posting a link to an article called “16 reasons to have daily sex.” We’re cool. But we’re not so cool that I want my mom to talk about sex on FB. Come on, Mom!!

• I’m totally obsessed with yoga. I seek out that post-yoga high! Can’t get enough.

• my heart exploded with love during Ari’s first swim lesson yesterday! This kid!!

  

• I have this feeling of “It’s only Wednesday!?” and “It’s already Wednesday?!” that I just can’t break free from right now. Worst.

• I’ve been a ‘single mom’ this week. Chad has been, to his dismay, working crazy hours. And it’s been a bummer. Ari has been pretty easy to deal with, but it’s no bueno without my partner in crime around.

• 10PM is a “late night” for me. It is what it is. I’m just old. And a mom. Oy!

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It’s a big day in the It’s A Hero household! It’s Ari’s first day of swimming lessons! That’s right, our 6 and a half month old baby is going for his first dip in the pool this afternoon.

My excitement is unparalleled. Seriously.

I was ‘one of those’ babies; I cannot remember a time in my life where I didn’t know how to swim. My mom took me to baby swim classes at the YMCA when I was six months old — the kind of classes where you gently dunk the baby and then let go, and the baby instinctively swims!

When I was pregnant, I knew that I wanted to attend the same classes with Ari.

So tonight we go to Bubble Babies! Truth be told, I am a bit nervous. Mostly for me. I know he’ll be OK, but I will probably be the one who needs some comforting. Ha!

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